An endoscopic, arthroscopic, and other minimally-invasive surgeries are well known surgical procedures to perform various surgical tasks. During these surgical procedures, only a small portions of the patient's tissue or internal organs are exposed to an open environment through small incisions made in the patient body.
The ability to perform these minimally invasive surgeries has been enhanced by the development of powered surgical instruments with a wide variety of different structures and configurations. A surgical instrument of this type generally includes a handpiece with an elongated cylindrical body containing a motor therein, and a surgical probe or a surgical implement attached to the handpiece. A distal or front end of the handpiece is often provided with a coupling assembly for releasably attaching the surgical implement, such as edgers, resectors, planers, burrs, and the like. A mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the motor to the surgical implement is also provided within the handpiece.
The handpiece also typically has a suction valve and conduit for removing irrigating fluid and tissue and debris from the surgical site. For this, a suction pump is connected to the handpiece and provides the suction force for drawing the fluid and debris away from the surgical site.